Wet/dry high-temperature glove

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a multilayer glove comprising an outer layer consisting essentially of aramid fibers, an inner layer consisting essentially of a thermoset material, and a hand contact layer comprising animal or plant fiber, wherein the inside palm of the glove remains below about 49 C (120 F), at least 15 seconds after the glove is immersed in water at room temperature for 2 min, removed from the water, hung in a vertical position for 5 min, and heated at a temperature of about 280 C (536 F).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to a glove for handling high temperature objects and useful both when wet and dry.

2. Description of the Related Art

Oven mitts and gloves are formed generally of materials that serve to protect a wearer's hand, wrist, and lower forearm. These articles are primarily used by home consumers, but may also have industrial applications. There is a growing demand to improve the effectiveness of these gloves in different environments.

Particularly, there is a need for gloves with improved performance in wet environments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Provided is a multilayer glove comprising:

an outer layer consisting essentially of aramid fibers,

an inner layer consisting essentially of a thermoset material, and

a hand contact layer comprising polyester, animal or plant fiber,

wherein the inside palm of said glove remains below about 49 C (120 F), at least 15 seconds after the glove is immersed in water at room temperature for 2 min, removed from the water, hung in a vertical position for 5 min, and heated at a temperature of about 280 C (536 F).

Also provided is a method of making such a glove.

The foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The attached FIGURE presents in graph form the performance of a prior art high-temperature glove and the glove of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In some embodiments, the invention relates to a multilayer glove comprising:

an outer layer consisting essentially of aramid fibers,

an inner layer consisting essentially of a thermoset material, and

a hand contact layer comprising polyester, animal, or plant fiber,

wherein the inside palm of said glove remains below about 49 C (120 F), at least 15 seconds after the glove is immersed in water at room temperature for 2 min, removed from the water, hung in a vertical position for 5 min, and heated at a temperature of about 280 C (536 F).

In some embodiments, the invention relates to the method of making the above glove.

In some embodiments, the invention relates to a multilayer glove comprising:

a woven, non-woven, or knit fabric spun yarn outer layer consisting essentially of about 90%-10% poly(metaphenylene isophthalamide) and 10%-90% poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide),

an inner layer consisting essentially of one of nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, fluoroelastomer, silicone or mixtures thereof, and

a hand contact layer comprising polyester, animal or plant fiber,

wherein the inside palm of the glove remains below about 120 F (49 C), at least 15 seconds after the glove is immersed in water at room temperature for 2 min, removed from the water, hung in a vertical position for 5 min, and heated at a temperature of about 280 C.

In some embodiments, the invention relates to the method of making the above glove.

The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative and preferred embodiments that form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that the scope of the claims is not limited to the specific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Also, as used in the specification including the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. When a range of values is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. All ranges are inclusive and combinable.

Examples of suitable fibers for use in the layers include polyaramids, such as poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide) sold by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont), Wilmington, Del. under the trade name KEVLAR®.

When the polymer is a polyamide, aramid is preferred. By “aramid” is meant a polyamide wherein at least 85% of the amide (—CO—NH—) linkages are attached directly to two aromatic rings. Suitable aramid fibers are described in Man-Made Fibers—Science and Technology, Volume 2, Section titled Fiber-Forming Aromatic Polyamides, page 297, W. Black et al., Interscience Publishers, 1968. Aramid fibers are, also, disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,172,938; 3,869,429; 3,819,587; 3,673,143; 3,354,127, and 3,094,511. Additives can be used with the aramid, and it has been found that up to as much as 10 percent, by weight, of other polymeric material can be blended with the aramid. Also, copolymers can be used having as much as 10 percent of other diamine substituted for the diamine of the aramid or as much as 10 percent of other diacid chloride substituted for the diacid chloride or the aramid.

Two common types of aramid fibers include (1) meta-aramid fibers, one of which is composed of poly(metaphenylene isophthalamide), which is also referred to as MPD-I, and (2) para-aramid fibers, one of which is composed of poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide), also referred to as PPD-T. Meta-aramid fibers are currently available from DuPont in several forms under the trademark Nomex®. Commercially available Nomex® T-450 is 100% meta-aramid fiber; Nomex® T-455 is a staple blend of 95% Nomex® meta-aramid fiber and 5% Kevlar® para-aramid fiber; and Nomex®D T-462 is a staple blend of 93% Nomex® meta-aramid fiber, 5% Kevlar® para-aramid fiber, and 2% carbon core nylon fiber. Nomex® N302 is a staple blend of 93% producer-colored Nomex® meta-aramid fiber, 5% producer-colored Kevlar® para-aramid fiber, and 2% carbon core nylon fiber. In addition, meta-aramid fibers are available in various styles under the trademarks Conex® and Apyeil® which are produced by Teijin, Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan and Unitika, Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, respectively.

The preferred aramid is a para-aramid and poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide)(PPD-T) is the preferred para-aramid. By PPD-T is meant the homopolymer resulting from approximately mole-for-mole polymerization of p-phenylene diamine and terephthaloyl chloride and, also, copolymers resulting from incorporation of small amounts of other diamines with the p-phenylene diamine and of small amounts of other diacid chlorides with the terephthaloyl chloride. As a general rule, other diamines and other diacid chlorides can be used in amounts up to as much as about 10 mole percent of the p-phenylene diamine or the terephthaloyl chloride, or slightly higher, provided only that the other diamines and diacid chlorides have no reactive groups which interfere with the polymerization reaction. PPD-T, also, means copolymers resulting from incorporation of other aromatic diamines and other aromatic diacid chlorides such as, for example, 2,6-naphthaloyl chloride or chloro- or dichloroterephthaloyl chloride or 3,4′-diaminodiphenylether.

By “animal fibers” is meant textile fibers of animal origin including, but not limited to, wool, cashmere, alpaca, camel hair, and silk.

By “plant fibers” is meant textile fibers of plant origin including, but not limited to, cotton, kapok, jute, ramie, flax, and blends or mixtures thereof.

For purposes herein, the term “fiber” is defined as a relatively flexible, macroscopically homogeneous body having a high ratio of length to width across its cross-sectional area perpendicular to its length. The fiber cross-section can be any shape, but is typically round. Herein, the term “filament” or “continuous filament” is used interchangeably with the term “fiber.”

As used herein, the term “staple fibers” refers to fibers that are cut to a desired length or fibers that occur naturally with or naturally have a low ratio of length to width across its cross-sectional area perpendicular to its length when compared with filaments. Length can vary from about 0.1 inch to several feet. In some embodiments, the length is from 0.1 inch to about 8 inches. Man-made staple fibers are cut to a length suitable for processing on cotton, woolen, or worsted yarn spinning equipment.

The staple fibers can have (a) substantially uniform length, (b) variable or random length, or (c) subsets of the staple fibers have substantially uniform length and the staple fibers in the other subsets have different lengths, with the staple fibers in the subsets mixed together forming a substantially uniform distribution.

In some embodiments, suitable staple fibers have a length of 1 to 30 centimeters. Staple fibers made by short staple processes result in a fiber length of 1 to 6 centimeters.

The staple fibers can be made by any process. The staple fibers can be formed by stretch-breaking continuous fibers resulting in staple fibers with deformed sections that act as crimps. The staple fibers can be cut from continuous straight fibers using a rotary cutter or a guillotine cutter resulting in straight (i.e., non crimped) staple fiber, or additionally cut from crimped continuous fibers having a saw tooth-shaped crimp along the length of the staple fiber, with a crimp (or repeating bend) frequency of no more than 8 crimps per centimeter.

Stretch-broken staple fibers can be made by breaking a tow or a bundle of continuous filaments during a stretch-break operation having one or more break zones that are at a prescribed distance creating a random variable mass of fibers having an average cut length controlled by break-zone adjustment.

Staple fibers of this invention can be converted into yarns using traditional long and short staple ring spinning processes that are well known in the art. For short staple, cotton system spinning fiber lengths from ¾ inch to 2¼ inch (1.9 to 5.7 cm.) are typically used. For long staple, worsted, or woolen system spinning, fibers up to 6½ inches (16.5 cm.) are typically used. However, this is not intended to be limiting to ring spinning because the yarns may also be spun using air jet spinning, open end spinning and many other types of spinning that converts staple fiber into useable yarns.

The stretch-broken staple fibers typically have length of up to 7 inches (17.8 cm.) long and can be made using traditional stretch-broken tow processes. Staple fibers having maximum lengths of up to around 20 inches (51 cm) are possible through processes as described, for example in PCT Patent Application No. WO 0077283. Yarns are so made by consolidated fibers into spun yarn using filament entanglement with air jets having a tenacity in the range of 3 to 7 grams per decitex. These yarns may have secondary twist, that is, they may be twisted after formation to impart more tenacity to the yarn, in which case the tenacity can be in the 10 to 18 grams per denier (9 to 17 grams per dtex) range. Stretch-broken staple fibers normally do not require crimp because the process imparts a degree of crimp into the fiber.

The term continuous filament refers to a flexible fiber having relatively small-diameter and whose length is longer than those indicated for staple fibers. Continuous filament fibers can be converted to multifilament yarns by processes well known to those skilled in the art.

Fabrics of this invention can take on numerous configurations, including, but not limited to, knitted or woven fabrics or non-woven structures. Such fabric configurations are well known to those skilled in the art.

By “non-woven” fabric is meant a network of fibers typically in a random orientation but can be unidirectional (if contained within a matrix resin), felt, fiber batts, and the like.

By “woven” fabric is meant a fabric woven using any fabric weave, such as plain weave, crowfoot weave, basket weave, satin weave, twill weave, and the like. Plain and twill weaves are believed to be the most common weaves used in the trade.

The invention is exemplified by the following examples, which are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLES Comparative Example A

In Comparative Example 1, the oven gloves, available from JE Enterprises under the trademark “OveGlove”®, had an outer layer of Kevlar 29, Nomex 450, 1.7 dtex denier spun yarn with a linear density of 1.7 dtex denier, and a hand contact layer of polyester and cotton. These gloves were conditioned by immersion in water at room temperature for 2 min. Gloves were then removed from the water and hung in a vertical position for 5 min. The gloves were tested as below within 5 min of completion of the conditioning.

Conditioned gloves were placed on a hotplate surface at temperature of 280 C±5 C, (536 F+18 F). Recording of temperatures inside the glove was begun as soon as the gloves were in place on the hotplate. Temperatures inside the glove were measured by taping three Omega K-type thermocouples to the palm area.

The individual temperature from each thermocouple (TC1-TC3) and their average as a function of time are presented in Table 1. The average temperature reaches 84.1 C (183.4 F) in 12 seconds (s). A typical task time for a person to remove an article at an elevated temperature from an oven or other heat source is about 15 seconds and the temperature at which one would experience discomfort is about 49 C-55 C (120-131 F). Of course, the level of-discomfort and the temperatures will vary from person to person.

TABLE 1 Results of Comparative Example A Time (s) TC-1 TC-2 TC-3 Average 0 14.3 13.6 13.7 13.9 2 14.3 13.6 13.7 13.9 4 14.2 13.6 13.7 13.8 6 14.2 13.6 13.7 13.8 8 14.2 15.4 15 14.9 10 94.5 57.6 15 55.7 12 94.5 57.6 100.2 84.1 14 100.3 100.4 100.2 100.3 16 100.3 100.4 100.2 100.3 18 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 20 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 22 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 24 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 26 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 28 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 30 100.3 100.6 100.3 100.4 32 100.4 100.6 100.3 100.4 34 100.4 100.5 100.3 100.4 36 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 38 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 40 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 42 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 44 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 46 100.3 100.5 100.3 100.4 48 100.4 100.5 100.3 100.4 50 100.4 100.5 100.3 100.4 52 100.4 100.5 100.3 100.4 54 100.5 100.5 100.3 100.4 56 100.5 100.5 100.3 100.4 58 100.5 100.5 100.3 100.4 60 100.5 100.5 100.3 100.4 62 100.4 100.5 100.3 100.4 64 100.5 100.5 100.3 100.4 66 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 68 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 70 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 72 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 74 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 76 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 78 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 80 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 82 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 84 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 86 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 88 100.5 100.7 100.3 100.5 90 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 92 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 94 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 96 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 98 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5 100 100.5 100.6 100.3 100.5

Example 1

Oven gloves having identical outer and inner layers and palm layer as above, additionally having a middle layer of nitrile rubber were tested in the same way as described above. The temperature inside the glove gradually increases and only reaches 36 C (96.8 F) in 20 seconds.

TABLE 2 Results of Inventive Example 1 Time (s) TC-1 TC-2 TC-3 Average 0 14.5 15.3 13.9 14.6 2 14.5 15.3 13.9 14.6 4 14.5 15.3 13.9 14.6 6 14.4 15.3 13.9 14.5 8 14.4 15.4 14 14.6 10 15.5 17.1 14 15.5 12 15.5 17.1 17.7 16.8 14 21.3 23.6 25.6 23.5 16 28.8 23.6 25.6 26.0 18 28.8 31.9 33.4 31.4 20 35.6 38.8 33.4 35.9 22 41.1 38.8 39.6 39.8 24 41.1 43.9 44.5 43.2 26 45.5 47.6 44.5 45.9 28 45.5 47.6 48.5 47.2 30 49.1 50.5 51.7 50.4 32 52 50.5 51.7 51.4 34 52 53 54.2 53.1 36 54.4 55.5 54.2 54.7 38 56.3 55.5 56.3 56.0 40 56.3 57.3 58 57.2 42 58 58.9 58 58.3 44 58 58.9 59.4 58.8 46 59.4 60.3 60.6 60.1 48 60.5 60.3 60.6 60.5 50 60.5 61.5 61.5 61.2 52 61.5 62.5 61.5 61.8 54 62.3 62.5 62.3 62.4 56 62.3 63.5 63.1 63.0 58 63 64.4 63.1 63.5 60 63 64.4 63.7 63.7 62 63.6 65.4 64.2 64.4 64 64.1 65.4 64.2 64.6 66 64.1 66.2 64.7 65.0 68 64.6 67 64.7 65.4 70 65.1 67 65.2 65.8 72 65.1 67.7 65.6 66.1 74 65.7 68.3 65.6 66.5 76 65.7 68.3 66 66.7 78 65.7 68.9 66.4 67.0 80 66.8 68.9 66.4 67.4 82 66.8 69.5 66.8 67.7 84 67.4 70 66.8 68.1 86 68.2 70 67.1 68.4 88 68.2 70.7 67.7 68.9 90 69 71.5 67.7 69.4 92 69 71.5 68.1 69.5 94 70 72.4 68.5 70.3 96 71 72.4 68.5 70.6 98 71 73.5 69 71.2 100 72.1 74.5 69 71.9 102 73.3 74.5 69.4 72.4 104 73.3 75.6 69.9 72.9 106 74.7 76.7 69.9 73.8 108 74.7 76.7 70.3 73.9 110 76.1 77.7 70.6 74.8 112 77.6 77.7 70.6 75.3 114 77.6 78.6 70.9 75.7 116 79 79.5 70.9 76.5 118 80.5 79.5 71.2 77.1 120 80.5 80.4 71.6 77.5 122 82.1 81.3 71.6 78.3

The FIGURE presents in a graph the temperature as a function of time for the inventive glove and for the prior art glove.

It is to be appreciated that certain features are, for clarity, described herein in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any subcombination. 

1. A multilayer glove comprising: an outer layer consisting essentially of aramid fibers, an inner layer consisting essentially of a thermoset material, and a hand contact layer comprising polyester, animal or plant fiber, wherein the inside palm of said glove remains below about 49 C (120 F), at least 15 seconds after the glove is immersed in water at room temperature for 2 min, removed from the water, hung in a vertical position for 5 min, and heated at a temperature of about 280 C (536 F).
 2. The glove of claim 1 wherein the outer layer is poly(metaphenylene isophthalamide), poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide) spun yarns.
 3. The glove of claim 2 wherein the poly(metaphenylene isophthalamide) is present in about 90%-10% of the outer layer and poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide) is present in about 10%-90% of the outer layer.
 4. The glove of claim 1 wherein the outer layer is woven, non-woven or knit fabric.
 5. The glove of claim 1 wherein the thermoset material consists essentially of nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, fluoroelastomer, silicone or mixtures thereof.
 6. The glove of claim 1, wherein the inside palm of said glove remains below about 49 C (120 F), at least 28 seconds after the glove is immersed in water at room temperature for 2 min, removed from the water, hung in a vertical position for 5 min, and heated at a temperature of about 280 C (536 F).
 7. A multilayer glove comprising: an woven, non-woven or knit fabric spun yarn outer layer consisting essentially of about 90%-10% poly(metaphenylene isophthalamide) and 10%-90% poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide), an inner layer consisting essentially of nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, fluoroelastomer, silicone, or mixtures thereof, and a hand contact layer comprising polyester, animal, or plant fiber, wherein the inside palm of said glove remains below about 49 C (120 F), at least 15 seconds after the glove is immersed in water at room temperature for 2 min, removed from the water, hung in a vertical position for 5 min, and heated at a temperature of about 280 C (536 F).
 8. The multilayer glove of claim 7, wherein the inside palm of said glove remains below about 49 C (120 F), at least 28 seconds after the glove is immersed in water at room temperature for 2 min, removed from the water, hung in a vertical position for 5 min, and heated at a temperature of about 280 C (536 F). 